Human trafficking to UK 'rising'

The number of people being trafficked into the UK is rising, latest government estimates suggest.

Last year the authorities learned of 946 victims, compared with 710 in 2010, the inter-departmental ministerial group on human trafficking said.

Trafficking gangs in China, Vietnam, Nigeria and eastern Europe now pose the biggest threat to the UK , it said.

The government said better co-ordination between its departments and with authorities abroad was key.

But anti-slavery groups warned government "failures" had led to "significant steps back" in the fight.

Illegal organ removals

At the scene

By Tom SymondsHome Affairs correspondent

In Ilford, East London, the police moved in at 05:15 BST, smashing through the door of an end of terrace house, but without result. It was empty.

The Met says it carries out two such raids every week, on average.

Two miles away in a second house, they found a Lithuanian family living in one room. A stack of mail showed that a large number of people have stayed there before.

They questioned the Lithuanians who said they were being paid below minimum wage to work in a recycling depot and building firm.

The room costs £140 a week. There was a CCTV camera watching the door of the house.

Are they victims of people trafficking? It's not clear, and often those involved haven't asked themselves the same question.

But police say those who try to run are often subject to violence.

There is currently no official figure for the number of victims trafficked into the country each year.

However, the report said 712 adult victims and 234 child victims were reported last year to the National Referral Mechanism, the official body that identifies and looks after those caught up in trafficking.

Of the victims referred in 2010, 524 were adults and 186 were children.

It is thought the increase could be explained by improvements in identifying victims, although campaigners say the figures of those being trafficked could be far higher as many victims choose not to come forward for fear of being deported.

The report suggested an increase in the number of children being forced into crime, including street begging.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre estimates there are about 300 child trafficking victims in the UK every year.

The report also detailed two cases of people trafficked for illegal organ removals, but they were detected and stopped before the operations were carried out.

One involved the planned sale of a victim's kidneys.

'Better life'

Det Insp Kevin Hyland, of London's Metropolitan Police - which sees the UK's highest rates of trafficking - said some victims travelled to the UK in lorries or containers but the majority arrived lawfully, often accompanied by their traffickers.

"The vast majority of them think they're coming to a better life in the UK," he said.

Mr Hyland said it was often "almost impossible" for border guards to spot victims because they often did not even know they were being trafficked.

Many victims are promised jobs in the hotel or leisure industry, or as interpreters, but when they arrive they are "groomed or threatened" and used for sexual exploitation, forced labour or both, he said.

In London, police deal with more than 100 cases of trafficking a year. Some will involve more than 400 victims but the majority involve about 10 to 15 people.

The report revealed the largest number of referrals of potential victims of trafficking were Nigerian nationals. From within Europe, Romanian nationals were the biggest group referred.

There are an estimated 92 organised crime groups in the UK with known involvement in human trafficking, it said.

And 142 defendants were charged with offences related to human trafficking in 2011/12.

'Vile trade'

Organ trafficking

By Philippa RoxbyHealth reporter, BBC News

The two potential victims of organ trafficking in the UK in 2011 are the first people identified as being forced into giving up their internal organs for transplant.

But it's still a small problem, with organ trafficking making up only 1% of all potential victims of trafficking last year, according to the Serious Organised Crime Association.

Cases of illegal organ trading are rare in the UK because of safeguards in place.